海角大神

It鈥檚 9 a.m. and court is in session. Inside the overflow room 鈥� a makeshift space set up for the public 鈥� a video feed blares proceedings from the main courtroom. A petite woman in all white calls this small, 60-odd crowd to order. There鈥檚 no talking allowed, no cellphones, and no food or drinks. During the break, those inside must leave so that those in the long line outside the door can get a chance to watch the trial.

鈥淚f you get up to use the bathroom,鈥� she says, 鈥測ou lose your spot.鈥�

Across the hallway in the main courtroom is Dominique Pelicot, sitting slack-jawed and downtrodden. But this crowd of mostly women is not here to see him. They鈥檙e here to support Gis猫le, his wife, whom Mr. Pelicot is accused of drugging with sleeping pills and raping for a decade. He also recruited dozens of men to rape her while he watched and recorded them.

Since it began in September, the Pelicot trial has captivated and outraged the French. But here in Avignon 鈥� and nearby Mazan where the rapes took place 鈥� the trial has touched a particular nerve with local women, with something resembling fandom for Ms. Pelicot.

Every day for the past three months, supporters have woken up early, taken time off work, and dedicated their off days to come here to the Avignon courtroom. Some come every week. For others it鈥檚 their first time. Most live within an hour of Avignon, but all have given up their day to be here.

They sit in silence, listening to often gruesome testimony from the lawyers of Mr. Pelicot and the 51 accused, and watching Mr. Pelicot鈥檚 rape videos that the trial has made public. That is by the request of Ms. Pelicot, who wants her case to serve a larger purpose: to shift the shame surrounding rape onto the accused.

鈥淚 came here to support Gis猫le, to show her that she鈥檚 not alone,鈥� says Alison Pradel, a university law student from Nimes, around 45 minutes away, who has come twice to court by herself. 鈥淭o see her in person made it more concrete, more real. By making her case public, everyone can see what happened. Rape can鈥檛 be hidden in the shadows anymore.鈥�

Mathilde Portail says she took an hourlong train after work one day in late November to see the trial for herself, after being 鈥渇illed with anger鈥� while reading about the trial from her home in Montpellier.

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely something different to be here in person,鈥� says Ms. Portail, during an hourlong wait in the security line to get into the courthouse. 鈥淭he number of people who have come to be here with Gis猫le, and the signs around town 鈥� you can really feel the support.鈥�

Controversy in the community

A few steps from the courthouse is Avignon鈥檚 famous walled old city. Inside those walls, local feminist organizations have plastered signs of support for Ms. Pelicot, like 鈥淩ape is rape鈥� and 鈥淕is猫le: Women thank you.鈥�

But there is a palpable tension when court gets out of session. At Bar La Brasserie, a local restaurant, the owner says he recently decided to stop serving trial defendants who were regularly coming in during the lunch break because he 鈥渄idn鈥檛 feel right about it.鈥�

Across the street, three lawyers for the accused men 鈥� including two women 鈥� scrape off the 鈥�2鈥� in 鈥�20 years for each.鈥� Similar protest signs have been plastered around town, calling for 20 years of prison for each of the 51 accused, instead of the four to 18 that prosecutors are calling for.

Some of these men will never interact with the public. At least a dozen with previous convictions are held in court during breaks and at the end of each day are packed onto a prison bus. But the rest are free to walk around, have lunch in local restaurants, and chat in the courtroom lobby.

On a late November day, two of the accused wear pandemic-era masks, sunglasses, baseball caps, and hoodies as they enter court. But most don鈥檛 try to hide their faces and a majority are what the French press have dubbed, 鈥淢onsieur Tout le monde,鈥� or 鈥淢r. Everyman.鈥� Indeed, among the list of the accused is a firefighter, a soldier, a journalist, and multiple farm workers; they鈥檙e of varying ages, ethnicities, and social backgrounds.

Most lived within a 35-mile radius of the Pelicots, in the small town of Mazan. That has put only a few degrees of separation between locals and the accused. Until now, Mazan was a quaint village of 6,000, known for its wine, fruit, and truffles. Now, it is being referred to as 鈥渢he village of rapists.鈥�

鈥淗onestly, it defies comprehension. It鈥檚 like something out of science fiction,鈥� says one bespectacled man at local Mazan restaurant called Le Si猫cle, who asked to remain anonymous. Like many residents here, he is tired of talking about the trial. 鈥淎ll I can think about is my two daughters. What if something like that happened to them?鈥�

Gis猫le Pelicot, feminist hero

When court gets back into session in Avignon, some of the women who attended the morning hearing are back in the line, hoping to get in to see this landmark trial. Others are here for the first time, like Margaux Oren, who took the train from Marseille with a friend to support Ms. Pelicot.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a historic moment,鈥� says Ms. Oren, who has participated in feminist protests related to the trial. 鈥淚 hope it鈥檚 going to bring rape culture to light. But it would be nice to see more men out here in support.鈥�

Dominique Pelicot鈥檚 lawyer, B茅atrice Zavarro, says that even if she feels like 鈥渢he devil鈥檚 advocate,鈥� gender didn鈥檛 play a role for her in deciding whether or not to take this case. In fact, during a break from court, she says she鈥檚 received an outpouring of female support 鈥渇or bringing justice to victims of sexual violence while defending Dominique.鈥�

Last month, French Equality Minister Salima Saa unveiled several measures to combat sexual violence against women. On French radio in mid-November, she said there will be 鈥渁 before Mazan and an after Mazan, just like there was a before and after #MeToo.鈥� The verdict is expected on Dec. 20.

The Pelicot trial appears to be a watershed moment for France. And for French women, Ms. Pelicot is their feminist hero.

鈥淥ne day, Gis猫le walked by me after court. I went up to her and just said, 鈥楾hank you,鈥� and, 鈥榃e鈥檙e all here for you,鈥欌�� says Avignon local Maguelonne Courbet, who has attended the Pelicot trial court proceedings four times. 鈥淪he looked at me with tears in her eyes. It shook me to the core. I still get chills thinking about it.鈥�